The companies, which bring to 47 the number of firms operating or in the process of setting up shop under IFSC Botswana, received their tax certificates from Minister of Finance and Development Planning in Gaborone yesterday (Tuesday). Speaking at the handing over ceremony, Minister Kenneth Matambo said through the IFSC framework, Botswana was offering itself as the preferred gateway for capital investment into Africa.
“We therefore need to continuously benchmark our policies and standards against other successful financial and business centres and effect reforms where necessary of an IFSC in Botswana,” he said. “It is for this reason that my ministry is currently in discussions with the Ministry of Trade and Industry to identify and effect key reforms that are necessary for the continued success and competitiveness,” he said. The investment, which will create at least 52 jobs in different sectors of the economy in the first 12 months of operation, is a part of wider efforts to diversify the economy and establish an export oriented financial and international business services industry under IFSC Botswana. Unlike the 22 percent for domestic companies, investors under the IFSC tax status pay a corporate tax rate of 15 percent and are exempted from capital gains tax and withholding tax. Established in 2003, IFSC Botswana aims to establish and develop Botswana as a world-class hub for international financial and business services.
